Aileen H. Clyde 20th Century Women's Legacy Archive: Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Collection subjects include:

Anthropology; Archaeology; Architecture; Fine Arts; Journalism; Language and Languages; Literature; Music; and Performing Arts

Marilyn Arnold 

Emeritus professor of English at Brigham Young University. She also served as assistant to former BYU president Dallin H. Oaks, director of the Center for the Study of Christian Values in Literature, and dean of Graduate Studies.

Charlene Arrowsmith

Arrowsmith worked as office manager for Owens-Corning Fiberglass in Salt Lake City, Utah, for 20 years, retiring in 1983. Arrowsmith was an avid quilter whose work was displayed in a juried show at the Springville Art Museum. She was also a dedicated artist, working in oil and watercolor. Arrowsmith was a plein air painter and many of her works depict the Midway and Wanship areas of Utah. Arrowsmith’s work was displayed at numerous art galleries, shows, and at the Utah State Fair and other competitive shows, and she was included in the 1999 book Artists of Utah.

Authors Club

Organized in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1893 to "form a club for the study of the works of the best authors." The club expanded to establish traveling libraries, help in war relief activities, and offer a free kindergarten, as well as collaborate with Utah women political groups. Membership in the club is generally limited to those from prominent Salt Lake City families.

Alice Morrey Bailey

Alice sketched, sculpted, and wrote numerous short stories, plays, and poems. Her book of poems entitled Rain Shadows was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. She was active in the LDS Church and wrote for many church publications. She was also active in the League of Utah Writers, the Association for Mormon Letters, and the National League of American Pen Women.

Phyllis Barber

Phyllis Nelson (b. 1943) published novels, short stories, articles, essays, and a book for young readers, Barber has served on the faculty of Vermont College. As a faculty member, she has lead numerous writing workshops and continuing education classes. She has received numerous awards for both teaching and writing.

Tandy Beal

Professional dancer from Utah, well known for several of her performances as well as founder of the Tandy Beal and Company, a dance company in Washington State.

Dorothy Bearnson

Undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Virginia 1941-42 and at the University of Utah where she earned her B.A. in 1943, and her M.A. in 1945. She has held a number of teaching positions at the University of Utah including: instructor of art 1962-72, associate professor of art 1972-77, and professor of art 1977-99. She is a respected ceramist and educator.

Donna D. Beesley

Beesley did extensive research on the Enos Wall family and the historic Wall Mansion, in Salt Lake City, Utah; and she wrote a paper that was later used as a guide in the mansion's restoration. She also did volunteer work for the Utah Heritage Foundation Speakers Bureau, notably doing research on the mansions of South Temple and on Utah ghost towns, and presenting lectures to school and adult groups.  Beesley was a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Leia Bell

Bell (b. 1977) grew up in Tennessee but moved to Utah, where she received her B.F.A. in printmaking in 2001. She creates most of her prints for Kilby Court, a live music venue in Salt Lake, although she has also done work for music venues elsewhere in the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom.

Marie Nelson Bennett

Musician and composer, obtaining degrees in music and composing from the University of Utah and Yale University.

Julia Brixen Bertoch

Bertoch wrote Modern Echoes from Ancient Hills; she donated money to the building of Kingsbury Hall; was married to a Utah Senator, Marvin J. Bertoch, who also helped write Modern Echoes from Ancient Hills; and she taught Speech 105 at Westminster College.

Cristina Biaggi

Biaggi studied art and art history, sculpture, archeology, literature, and more at Vassar College, Harvard University, the University of Mexico City, and the University of Utah, finally earning her PhD in the aesthetics of art and prehistory at New York University. She has had a long career in activism and the arts, publishing papers, giving speeches, and displaying her art around the world. Much of her life’s work is centered around the Goddess; she has written numerous books and created countless works of art on the subject. 

Beverly Bithell

Dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher, holding jobs in Utah and New York between 1950 and 1980.

Mary Lythgoe Bradford 

Latter-day Saint poet, author, and literary critic.

Fawn McKay Brodie

Author and professor at UCLA. Wrote five biographies on different men including Joseph Smith, Thaddeus Steven, Sir Richard Burton, Thomas Jefferson, and Richard Nixon.

Fawn Brodie

Alice "Pat" Rice Capson Brown

Lifestyle writer for the Salt Lake Tribune and has been recognized for her writing in journalism and poetry.

Olive Woolley Burt

Burt wrote freelance articles in the Deseret News, and eventually took a full-time position as children’s feature editor for the Salt Lake Tribune. She is well-known for the over 50 children's books she published throughout her life.

Ramona Wilcox Cannon

Columnist for the Relief Society Magazine, the author of a Deseret News advice column, "Confidentially Yours," under the name, Mary Marker, and author of 300 freelance articles.

Lucille Iredale Carleson

Lucille was a member of St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral and did volunteer work at Holy Cross Hospital. The author of numerous poems, Lucille was active in the National League of American Pen Women. She was also a member of Town Club.

Dolores Chase

Dolores Chase obtained masters degrees in both English and Arts Administration in 1979. She opened the Dolores Chase Fine Art gallery in 1985 in downtown Salt Lake City. It closed in 2002. She is also known for being a Utah writer and for her many commentary essays written and produced on KUER FM90 for the program, Afternoon Edition.

Cleofan Society

Women's group was formed in 1892 with the intention of studying art, literature and history.

Nancee Cortés

Nancee Cortés' dedication to the performing arts began as a young ballerina under the tutelage of Ivan Novikoff and Lillian Cushing and grew as she performed with such groups as The Robert Joffrey Ballet Company in New York City. While in New York, Cortés served as assistant choreographer to Robert Joffrey, as well as a teacher to several of his pupils. She also assisted Margaret Sande at Radio City Music Hall. Cortés was a director of the Connecticut Dance Academy, and in 1972 was appointed director of performing arts at the University of Southern California. In 1983, she began her employment with the University of Utah as consultant for the Department of Music. A year later, she became chair of the Department of Ballet. She served in that capacity for four years, then was made assistant dean for development at the College of Fine Arts. 

Vesta Pierce Crawford

Crawford studied at Brigham Young University, Stanford, and the University of Wyoming, and went on to teach at several universities. She worked as an editor for the Relief Society Magazine, and was a member of the League of Utah Writers, the Utah State Poetry Society, the Utah Sonneteers, and several other poetry organizations. She received many awards for her writing.

Ruth Draper Crockatt

Crockatt became the president of the League of Women Voters of Utah in 1967. In 1972 Crockatt was appointed Field Director for the Utah Association of Mental Health. She later worked as the Director for the Utah Arts 14 Council from 1974-1985 then became the Representative for the Western Region for the National Endowment for the Arts from 1985-1991.

Alene Dalton

Dalton became the "Story Princess" on KSL-TV in Salt Lake City.

Frances Darger

In 1942, as the men of the Utah Symphony Orchestra joined the armed forces, Frances auditioned for and won a seat in the orchestra. Two years later, she and her sisters moved to Hollywood to found a singing group, but they moved back to Utah after a year and she returned to playing in the orchestra. She graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in English.

Frances played with the symphony for 69 years, during its transition from a community part-time orchestra to its prestigious status today, with tours and record deals. When she retired in 2012, she held the record for the longest tenure of any symphony musician in the world.

Daughters of the American Colonists 

In 1937, Edith Louise Wire founded and was first Regent of the Utah Society of this national organization. Members had to demonstrate descent from an original colonist, and were to contribute research and documentation about colonial history and family lineage to be forwarded to the national organization.

Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Princess Timpanogos Chapter 

Daughters of the American Revolution, Uintah Chapter

Lee Deffebach

Deffebach is a painter known for her abstract expressionism and color field paintings.  This collection (1993, 2001-2005) consists of correspondence written over a period of years between Lee Deffebach and Utah artist and Highland High School art instructor, Patrick Eddington, and continuing until shortly before her death.

Louise Degn

Worked for several years at KSL as the only woman broadcast news reporter in Utah. During her career as a reporter, she produced the program “Mormon Women and Depression” despite intense pressure against it from the LDS church. She won several awards praising her perspective on the lives of Utah women. She produced a program on women’s suffrage in the western United States, “Let the Women Vote!” at the University of Utah.

Klancy Clark de Nevers

De Nevers research focuses on World War II, Japanese internment, and Aberdeen, Washington (her hometown). The publications resulting from this research include; The Colonel and the Pacifist, and The Cohasset Beach Chronicles that are a compilation of newspaper articles written during World War II by Kathy Hogan, that were edited by de Nevers and Lucy Hart.

Maurine Dewsnup

Professor of music at the University of Utah from 1942-1974, an accompanist for the department of dance, and a composer.

Constance Luprille Dillon

Constance "Connie" Luprille Dillon was born 31 March, 1918 in Milo, Idaho, to Ivan Storer and Martha Ann Simmons. She moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1952. She first studied oils and then changed her focus to watercolor. She participated in workshops with Osral Allred, Harrison Groutage, Thomas Leek, and others. She also took classes from Zelda Bills, Nola Sullivan, Nancy Lund, and Norma Forsberg. Dillon has exhibited in several group shows and has awards for her work. She worked as a secretary for the Chamber of Commerce, the University of Utah Department of Education and other departments, and the Veteran's Administration Medical Center. She died on 6 September, 2005.

Annette R. Dinwoodey

An accomplished contralto, serenaded the departing troops in World War II, sang for KSL radio, with the Utah Symphony, and was also the artistic director of the Oratorio Society for many years.

Margaret R. Draper

Actress for television and radio from the late 1930s through the 1960s and her work as a disk jockey on WNEW-FM in the 1960s.

Joyce Orlob Evans

In 1954, Evans served as vice-chairman of the Salt Lake County Polio Board, heading the annual Polio Ball and volunteer program for administering the Salk Vaccine. As a member of the Junior League, Joyce was a script writer, producer and director for their educational puppet shows and children’s programs.  Evans was also a member of the American Society of Composers, authors and publishers and won ASCAP awards for compiling the American Bicentennial activity booklet and for the BYU movie “Pioneers in Petticoats”. Two of her original Christmas songs were published in the December, 1973 issue of the Ensign magazine. She sang with the Oratorio society of Utah for 49 years, and the Utah Symphony Chorus for 14 years. She co-authored the program notes for the All-Women’s Legacy Concert held in Symphony Hall and wrote the script for the Pioneer Memorial Theater Gala. She taught creative writing at Ensign School.

In 1962, Evans was called to serve on the Young Women’s General Board of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She co-authored “Century of Sisterhood”, a history of the Young Women Organization from its founding in 1869 to 1969.

Blanche Faddis 

Faddis worked as a costume assistant at the University of Utah Department of Theatre. 

[Faddis is the woman sitting.] 

Fine Arts Club 

Organized in September 1923 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The purpose of the club, as deemed by its constitution created in 1924, was the study of history and the appreciation of fine arts beginning with the first civilization.

Norma Reynolds Dalby Freestone

Professor of music and dance at the University of Utah and Sarah Lawrence College. She worked with several dance companies in the United States and England.

Olive Ghiselin

Ghiselin (1907-2011), called the "Utah's First Lady of Short Fiction," began publishing her works later in life. She was the wife of poet Brewster Ghiselin.

Kathryn Hain

Kathryn Hain (b. 1957) was born in Nebraska. She earned her B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Nebraska; M.A. in Middle Eastern Cultures and Religions from Jerusalem University College; and Ph.D. in Middle East history from the University of Utah. She married Raymond Hain in 1981; the couple had three children. The family lived in Amman, Jordan and Jerusalem from 1996-2009. During the family’s time in the Middle East, Hain and her husband, were employed by the Church of School Services, Inc. where they provided Christian literature for churches and schools. Hain was an adjunct professor at the University of Utah from 2013-2015 and assistant professor at Bushnell University from 2017-2018.

Judith D. Hallet

She received her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and later attended UCLA as a graduate student in Motion Pictures. She married Stanley Hallet and moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where she earned her M.A. in French at the University of Utah. After college, she began her career as an independent filmmaker in Afghanistan and Tunisia. She was later hired as a Producer/Reporter for KUTV's news publication EXTRA. Then she joined National Geographic's EXPLORER as a Senior Producer in Washington, D.C. In 1991, she started her own production company, Judith Dwan Hallet Productions, where she produced and directed documentaries such as Battle for the Great Plains, Vietnam: The Next Generation, and John Kluge: The Will to Make a Difference.

June Rose Harwood

Taught at East High School, wrote poetry, sketched. Daughter of prominent Paris-trained Utah artist James Taylor Harwood and artist Harriet Richards Harwood.

Ruth Harwood 

Artist and poet, attended the University of Utah and Berkeley. Romantic/naturalist artist and poet. She was an accomplished and published poet, that she turned into lectures about her art-spiritual pilgrimage, a series of design compositions on the universal spiritual pilgrimage of man. Daughter of prominent Paris-trained Utah artist James Taylor Harwood and artist Harriet Richards Harwood.

Ruth Harwood

Phyllis Anne Haskell

Haskell was born in 1940 in Pasadena, California to Eldon Hoff and Le-ora Phyllis Archer Haskell. She studied ballet from the age of three. She attended the University of Arizona for her BA, where she shifted from ballet to modern dance. After graduating in 1962, Haskell danced professionally in New York City before pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts at the University of Utah, which she obtained in 1970. While at the University of Utah, Haskell joined the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company. In 1979, she returned to teaching dance at the University of Hawaii, and in 1987 she returned to the University of Utah as the chair of modern dance. In 1997, Haskell began serving as the dean of the University of Utah’s College of Fine Arts, and between 2000 and 2005 she served as Associate Vice President for the Arts at the university. Haskell retired in 2005, but established the Phyllis A. Haskell Endowed Scholarship Fund in the Department of Modern Dance.

Elizabeth R. Hayes

A dancer, choreographer for more than 40 dances, and director of more than 35 dance concerts, lectures, demonstrations, and other dance productions during her career. She was also a dance instructor and teacher.

Dawn House

Worked as a reporter for the Daily Herald and the Salt Lake Tribune. She was nominated twice for a Pulitzer Prize, for her stories on Mark Hofmann and polygamy investigative stories.

Pearl Jacobsen

Jacobsen was a local historian and chaired the Sevier County Bicentennial Committee.

Julie Jensen

Ph.D. in Theatre, is a playwright and became the resident playwright for the Salt Lake Acting Company towards the end of her career.

Genevieve Lawrence

Lawrence was a owner of Lugen Galleries, art collector, member of the Utah State Fair Board of Art and Music, president of the Utah Women Artists Exhibition.

Florence Jepperson Madsen

Florence was raised in a prominent family of artists and musicians in Provo. Florence held a career as a contralto soloist on the east coast prior to teaching at Brigham Young University (BYU); Franklin sang with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and studied voice under Florence. Both held advanced degrees in Music from the New England Conservatory of Music as well as from BYU, including the honorary title of Emeritus which they each were awarded after over 40 years of teaching at the institution.

Ann H. Matthews

Graduated from the University of Utah and taught dance and art at elementary through college levels. She was a prolific artist and shared her talents by painting portraits of family, friends, landscapes and still-life paintings, some of which were made into cards and are sold commercially.

Blanche Kendall McKey

Blanche Kendall Thomas McKey was born on 30 June 1879 in Salt Lake City, Utah.  She graduated from the University of Utah in 1900 with a normal certificate, and in the following year, left for New York with her older sister Kate. There, Blanche took private acting lessons. A few months later, she auditioned for Klaw and Erlanger, a prestigious New York agency, and was placed under contract. She worked for various other companies before her marriage to William Richard McKey in 1907. Blanche taught drama at Weber State after her husband's death from 1918-1923. She then attended the University of Utah and received her degree in 1924. She received her M.A. degree four years later. She died in 1973.

Madeline R. McQuown

Writer who spent most of her life living in Ogden, Utah. She studied at Weber College and the University of Utah. She wrote poetry, which she published in an anthology. She also researched history and began writing a biography of Brigham Young.

Nancy Melich

Reporter and theater critic for the Salt Lake Tribune for thirty years. She was also a founding member of the Sundance Playwrights Laboratory and Utah Arts Festival. She was the vice-chair on the executive committee of the American Theatre Critics Association.

Marsha Ballif Midgley

Midgley was the lead in the theatre department's production of Saint Joan in 1953 and had a university theatrical career.

Karen Marguerite Moloney

Worked as Editor in Chief for the 2004 Spring issue of Dialogue. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of California in 1989. She has done much editorial work and has had many of her own works published. She is a professor of English at Weber State University.

Mary Muir

She earned a BA and MA in History at the McCune School of Music and the University of Utah, where she taught Art History until her retirement. An active member of the community, she served as the President of the Utah Symphony Guild, and was the first woman member of the Symphony's Board of Directors, as well as an influential founder of the Bountiful Art Center. She dedicated much of her life to researching Utah artist LeConte Stewart, and became one of the foremost authorities on him and his work.

Jacqueline "Jackie" Nokes

Nokes (b.1929) was a television host, producer, Assistant to the President, and Community Liaison at Salt Lake City's KSL-5 Broadcasting House during the years 1957 to1987. She was featured on the television programs "Romper Room," "Midday," "Faces," and the daily radio show, "What's Happening." Nokes used her television show "Midday" to publicize a range of community projects. She was particularly supportive of people with disabilities.

Jakie Nokes

Helen O'Connell

Popular singer from the 1930s to the 1990s. She sang with various famous bands and individuals, including Jimmy Richards’ nine-piece orchestra, Larry Funk and his Band of a Thousand Melodies, Jimmy Dorsy, and Bob Eberly. She also toured with Kay Star, and Rosemary Cloony.

Agnes Just Reid

Teacher and author of many short stories, poems and wrote a column in the Blackfoot [Idaho] newspaper, The Register.

Barbara Richards

Barbara Richards was a self-taught photographer whose photographs have been exhibited and published. Her first teaching assignments were for the School of Journalism at the University of Utah. Later, she was hired to teach photography in the Graduate School of Architecture and remained there for 25 years until retirement, as Professor Emeritus. More than 4,000 students completed one of her classes, Photographic Seeing. In 1988, she taught the University's first-ever televised course on Channel Nine.

Raye Carleson Ringholz

Ringholz is a noted woman writer from Utah. She published several books, which include Barrier of Salt, Guidebook to Canyonlands Country, The Wilderness Handbook, Uranium Frenzy, Little Town Blues, Paradise Paved, and On belay!

Shirley Ririe

She attended the University of Utah, then furthered her studies in dance in New York. She married Rhees Ririe in 1951 and soon after accepted a position to teach at Brigham Young University. Shirley later accepted a position at the University of Utah and met Joan Woodbury. They started a small company, called Choreodancers, which later became the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company.

Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company

Founded by Shirley Ririe and Joan Woodbury in 1964. Both professors at the University of Utah, Ririe and Woodbury joined forces to create a professional dance company, conducting several residencies every year. They have toured the United States and are internationally known as well. The company's activities include formal and informal performances, lecture-demonstrations, workshops, and classes in dance for actors, stage production, and theater lighting. These activities are for all age groups with special attention to educating children about the dance world.

Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company

Linda Sarver

Sarver studied costume design and was a resident costume designer for the Pioneer Theatre Company, she also worked in scenography and dramaturgy.

Marilyn Scharine

Scharine taught theatre through the Division of Continuing Education at the University of Utah and in 1986 became an adjunct in Speech and Theatre at Westminster College. In 1992-93 she taught conversational English at the University of Gdansk, Poland.

In 1981 she began hosting Our Arts (later ArtSpeak) on KRCL-FM Community Radio. In 1998 Marilyn Scharine received KRCL's "Stephen Holbrook Vision Quest Award". For many she chaired the Arts Division of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, and was to take over as President of the Academy in 2002.

Clarice Short

In1946 Short began teaching English at the University of Utah as an assistant professor. She remained there until 1974. Short has published two books of poetry, The Owl on the Aerial and The Old One and the Wind.

Linda Sillitoe

Professional author, editor, and writing instructor, and a three time Pulitzer Prize nominee. She wrote for the Deseret News, served as an editor on Bradford’s biography of Lowell L. Bennion, and completed extensive research on the ACLU in Utah.

Donna Toland Smart

Smart worked for the University of Utah as a technical writer and as an author for the Relief Society. She has served on the Emeritus Board.

Nonie N. Sorensen

Sorensen directs the Nonie Sorensen Musical Productions, a "musical reader's theater enhanced with choreography and minimum costume and props based on historical figures," in Ivins, Utah. She has been commissioned by the Utah Symphony, several businesses, and family groups to create musical productions and portray historical figures through music.

Emma Lou Thayne

Thayne was a poet, novelist, and essayist. Over the course of her career, she wrote and published 14 books of poetry, fiction, and essays, in addition to hundreds of poems. She also wrote the words to the hymn "Where Can I Turn for Peace?" Thayne received many awards for her writing and her activism, including: the Utah Governor's Mansion Artist Award for literary accomplishments, David O. McKay Humanities Award, the the Gandhi Peace Award, and the Association for Mormon Letters award. Thayne served on several boards, including Deseret News, the General Board of the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association, the Utah Arts Council and Odyssey House.

Wanda Clayton Thomas

Thomas was a teacher of speech and theater for over thirty years. Although the greater part of those years were spent at the University of Utah, her influences and contributions are international. She began her teaching career in Sacramento, California, taught in Utah, and later in Guam. Aside from teaching, Thomas performed in many theatrical productions and was dubbed by Lila Eccles Brimhall, a well-known Utah actress, as "the best actress in Utah."

Wanda Clayton Thomas

Madge Tomsic collection on Ruth Harwood

Collection is composed of material relating to Ruth Harwood (1896-1959), a Utah poet and artist who became best known for her works that described and symbolized the striving of the human soul.

Ruth Harwood

Utah Quilt Heritage Project

The Utah Quilt Guild was organized in 1977 to promote preservation of the art of quilt making. In order to preserve the history of quilts in Utah, the guild held a series of "documentation days," where volunteers throughout the state photographed and documented quilts. Some of the information gathered has been published in Gathered in Time: Utah Quilts and Their Makers, Settlement to 1950 (University of Utah Press, 1997).

Utah Federation of Women's Clubs

The objective of the Utah Federation, as stated in the first constitution, was "To bring into communication with one another the various women's clubs in Utah, that they may compare methods of work and become mutually helpful--and in general to promote such measures as shall best advance the educational, industrial, and social interests of the state."

Utah Federation of Women's Clubs

Utah Women's History Association

Founded in 1977. Its focus was on studying Utah women, Utah history, and women’s history. The association sponsored symposiums and programs on these different topics.

Ina Claire Wallace

Prominent actress during the 1900s. She began acting at age 13, and appeared on Broadway, and in Hollywood movies.

Julia Farnsworth Lund Wassmer

Wassmer (1911-1996)  had a long involvement in the Utah art community. She became State Art Director and devoted herself full time to art in Utah, developing beautification projects for public facilities, which provided work for artists struggling through the Depression. In 1937 Wassmer moved to New York City where she became a staff member of the Permanent Exhibition of Decorative Arts and Crafts at the Rockefeller Center. 

Barbara Williams

A reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune’s children’s section. She earned an M.A. in English from the University of Utah, published over fifty books.

Marian Robertson Wilson

Wilson (b. 1926) is a musician, as well as a linguist and teacher. She has been recognized internationally as music editor of Coptic Encyclopedia and has lectured and taught at universities throughout the world.  She is the daughter of Leroy J. Robertson, a world-renowned musician and composer.

Joan Woodbury

Studied at the University of Wisconsin, receiving her B.S. and M.S. degrees in dance. She taught dance there until becoming a professor at the University of Utah. She and Shirley Ririe co-founded the company Choreodancers, later known as the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company.

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